Invasor (horse)

Last updated
Invasor Invasor 2015.jpg
Sire Candy Stripes (USA)
Grandsire Blushing Groom
DamQuendom (ARG)
DamsireInterprete (ARG)
Sex Stallion
Foaled2002
Country Argentina
Colour Bay
BreederHaras Clausan (Haras Santa Ines)
OwnerStud 3 de Enero (2005)
Shadwell Stable
Trainer Anibal San Martin (2005)
Kiaran McLaughlin (2006-2007)
Record12: 11-0-0 [1]
Earnings$7,804,070
Major wins
Clásico Ensayo (2005)
Polla de Potrillos (2005)
GP Jockey Club (2005)
GP Nacional (2005)
Pimlico Special (2006)
Suburban Handicap (2006)
Whitney Handicap (2006)
Donn Handicap (2007)
Dubai World Cup (2007)

Breeders' Cup wins:
Breeders' Cup Classic (2006)
Awards
Uruguayan Triple Crown winner (2005)
Uruguayan Horse of the Year (2005)
United States Champion Older Male Horse (2006)
United States Horse of the Year (2006)
#1 - World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (2006)
Honours
United States Racing Hall of Fame inductee (2013)
Invasor Stakes at Hipodromo Nacional de Maroñas
Clasico Invasor at Hipodromo de San Isidro

Invasor (foaled August 3, 2002) is a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Argentina [2] by Haras Clausan (Haras Santa Ines). The winner of the 2005 Triple Crown in Uruguay, he was later purchased by Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who paid approximately US$1.4 million for the horse. His two biggest wins were the 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic, in which he defeated heavily favored Bernardini and highly fancied Lava Man, and the 2007 Dubai World Cup, the world's richest horse race. He finished racing with a record of eleven wins in twelve starts and career earnings of $7,804,070. He was voted the Eclipse Award for American Horse of the Year and led the year-end World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings in 2006. In 2013 he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Contents

Beginnings

A bay stallion with a small white star, Invasor was foaled in Argentina, sired by the famous Candy Stripes out of Quendom (ARG) by Interprete (ARG). Candy Stripes was also the sire of such notable horses as Criollito, Different, Leroidesanimaux, Lundy's Liability, Sweetest Thing, and Victory Stripes. Quendom and Invasor's maternal line are at Haras Santa Ines, Duggan, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Invasor was bought as a two-year-old by Pablo Hernandez and brothers Juan Luis and Luis Alberto Vio Bado, Uruguayans who brought him to their home country.

Pablo Hernandez remembers the day he and the two brothers first saw Invasor. Their friend, Miguel Ezcurra from Bullrich Auctioneers, took them by car to visit some smaller farms near Buenos Aires. After looking at 80 colts and fillies at several farms, they went to Haras Clausan (Haras Santa Ines) in Duggan, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and saw Invasor. "It was as if we had been hit with Cupid's arrow," said Hernandez. "We just fell in love with him." Sandro Miserocchi, owner of Haras Clausan (renamed Haras Santa Ines), said the horse would cost them $25,000. The three Uruguayans countered with $18,000. They all settled for $20,000. Hernandez said, "We purchased him and exported him to Maroñas Racetrack in Uruguay." [3]

Quendom (ARG), Invasor's mother, and the rest of his family are still at Haras Santa Ines.

Racing record

Trained by Anibal San Martin, Invasor was ridden by Gustavo Duarte, one of Uruguay's leading jockeys. Duarte called Invasor the best horse he's ever ridden.

Invasor broke his maiden in his debut in Maroñas in late February 2005, winning a 5½ furlong maiden race by 6¾ lengths, but then fractured his right hind sesamoid and required surgery. [3] He did not race again until August, when he won the "Ensayo" Stakes over 7½ furlongs by 2½ lengths.

Uruguayan Triple Crown

Invasor won the first leg of the Uruguayan Triple Crown, the one mile Gran Premio Polla de Potrillos run on September 10, by 5¾ lengths under heavy rain on a muddy track. One month later, on October 9, he won the 2000 m (1¼ mile) Gran Premio Jockey Club by 3½ lengths, and then completed the sweep, winning the Gran Premio Nacional by 6½ lengths. In all three races, Potri Flash came second. With this sweep, Invasor became a favorite of the public, and a favorite to win Uruguay's most important race, the championship Gran Premio Internacional José Pedro Ramírez, run every January 6 in Maroñas.

His total earnings for taking the Triple Crown amounted to $113,866. [4]

Invasor was sold after winning the Uruguayan Triple Crown to Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who paid around US $1,400,000 to have the horse run for Shadwell Stable. Although one Vio Brado brother was very reluctant to sell, the deal was made, and Invasor was flown into Florida, southernmost of the contiguous US states, to be trained by Kiaran McLaughlin at the Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center in Florida. There, the horse prepared for his next race, the UAE Derby. [3]

2006 Season

After training in Florida, Invasor was sent to Dubai to compete in the UAE Derby, running into traffic problems but coming on again to end up only a half length behind the 3rd and 2nd horses, albeit far from the winner, Discreet Cat (owned by the competing Godolphin Stables). Returning to the United States, he returned to the track in May to win the Grade I Pimlico Special by 1¼ lengths over Wanderin Boy, after stalking the leader through most of the race. On July 1, Invasor won the Grade I Suburban Handicap by 4 lengths at Belmont Park. On 6 August, he won his third straight Grade I race, holding off a hard-charging Sun King to win a photo finish in the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga. Invasor was pointed to the Jockey Club Gold Cup but developed a fever a week prior to the race, so his trainer decided to skip it and point him to the Breeders' Cup Classic to be run in November 2006.

Though he was now owned by a sheikh and raced in the United States, Invasor was Uruguay's national hero. In Uruguay, whenever the horse ran, people flocked to their nearest simulcast provider. [4] "There was great anticipation here for the Jockey Club Gold Cup," said Pablo Roig, editor of Uruguay Turf Line. "Here in Montevideo, we follow all his races through the OTB simulcasts, and the people are enjoying all his victories."

"In Uruguay, soccer is our main sport," said Luis Costa Baleta, a horse owner from a long-time Uruguayan racing family. "Whenever the national team plays, the entire country stops to watch the match. Since Invasor has gone to the United States, every time he runs, all the simulcast halls are crowded with people who come to see him and bet on him. They shout and cheer for him as if Uruguay was playing in the finals of the World Cup. They treat the horse as if he were still their own. No one can imagine what it's like. He's become a national hero." [3]

The racing journalist and writer Miguel Aguirre Bayley wrote: "In my opinion, Invasor excelled because of his refined qualities, his endurance, and his outstanding intelligence. Invasor may well become one of the best racehorses in the history of the American Turf." [5]

2006 Breeders' Cup

On November 4, 2006, Invasor, ridden by Fernando Jara, won the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, Kentucky. The field included favored Bernardini, second favorite Lava Man, and European three-year-old champion George Washington. Invasor, going 8-wide, under the guidance of the 18-year-old jockey Jara, passed Bernardini in the home stretch to win by a length. This win essentially secured the Eclipse Awards for Older Male Horse and Horse of the Year. He also effectively secured a Grand Slam of horse racing, as he had won the previous year's local Triple Crown and then secured the Classic.

2007 Season

Invasor 2007.png

On February 3, 2007, Invasor won his fifth successive Grade I victory in the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. Coming from off the pace, he was virtually stopped when Barcola, the long-shot pacesetter, began backing up. Under jockey Fernando Jara, Invasor was forced to check. Trying to angle off the rail, he was still blocked, clipping heels with Barcola. Coming into the stretch, Invasor and Jara found the hole they needed and squeezed through, achieving a two length victory over Hesanoldsalt, ridden by Rafael Bejarano.

2007 Dubai World Cup

On March 31, 2007, Invasor, again ridden by Fernando Jara, took the $6 million Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates against his rival Discreet Cat. His time of 1:59.97 for 2,000 meters was the second fastest in the race's history, exceeded only by Dubai Millennium's time of 1:59.50 in 2000. Discreet Cat finished last by 23 lengths, but Premium Tap, who had set the pace, battled Invasor in the stretch for place with the Hong Kong horse Bullish Luck third.

Invasor returned to the United States for a summer campaign but was injured and retired. He started twelve times and won eleven races. In the one race that he lost, the UAE Derby, he finished fourth behind Discreet Cat, a loss Invasor avenged in the running of the 2007 Dubai World Cup. His career earnings were $7,804,070.

Race summary

FinishRaceDistanceJockeyTimeGradeRunner up/WinnerTrack
1st Dubai World Cup 10 f Fernando Jara 1:59.9IPremium Tap Nad Al Sheba Racecourse
1st Donn Handicap 9 f Fernando Jara 1:48.43IHesanoldstaft Gulfstream Park
1st Breeders' Cup Classic 10 f Fernando Jara 2:02.18I Bernardini Churchill Downs
1st Whitney Handicap 9 f Fernando Jara 1:49.06ISun King Saratoga Race Course
1st Suburban Handicap 10 f Fernando Jara 2:01.23IWild Desert Belmont Park
1st Pimlico Special Handicap 9.5 f Ramon Dominguez 1:54.4IWanderin Boy Pimlico Race Course
4th UAE Derby 1 3/16m Richard Hills IIDiscreet Cat Nad Al Sheba Racecourse
1stGran Premio Nacional
(Uruguayan Derby)		12.5 fGustavo Duarte2:36.74I URUPotri FlashMaroñas
1stGran Premio Jockey Club10 fGustavo Duarte2:02.41I URUPotri FlashMaroñas
1stPolla de Potrillos
(Uruguayan Two Thousand Guineas)		8 fFernando Olivera1:36.26I URUPotri FlashMaroñas
1stClasico Ensayo7.5 fGustavo Duarte1:28.87III URUVasco KingMaroñas
1stLapsang (Maiden)5.5 fGustavo Duarte1:04.33LyonMaroñas

Retirement

Invasor was retired on June 23, 2007, after injuring his right hind ankle in the same area he had fractured when he was younger. [6] He originally stood stud at Shadwell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, for a stud fee of $35,000, later falling to $4,000 live foal. [7] His first foal (out of the stakes-winning Danehill mare Abby Road [ permanent dead link ‍]) was foaled on January 11, 2009.

In 2013, Invasor was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. [8]

In 2015, Shadwell announced that Invasor would be standing at Haras Cuatro Piedras in Uruguay. "There has been tremendous interest from South American breeders to have access to Invasor from the day he retired and we are pleased now to offer them this opportunity with his return to the country where he started his incredible racing career," said Kent Barnes, Shadwell Farm stallion manager. [7]

INVASORRRRR 093.jpg

Pedigree

Pedigree of Invasor, bay horse, 2002 [9]
Sire
Candy Stripes (USA)
ch. 1982		 Blushing Groom (FR)
ch. 1974		 Red God Nasrullah
Spring Run
Runaway Bride Wild Risk
Aimee
Bubble Company (FR)
ch. 1977		 Lyphard Northern Dancer
Goofed
ProdiceProminer
Euridice
Dam
Quendom (ARG)
blk. 1997		Interprete (ARG)
dkb/br. 1988		FarnesioGood Manners
La Farnesina
InaccessibleLiloy
Iliada
Queen of Victory (ARG)
dkb/br. 1990		CipayoLacydon
Tsarina
Twitch CrownCrown Thy Good
Twins (F-No.14-c)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giacomo (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Giacomo is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2005 Kentucky Derby at 50–1 odds.

Jerry D. Bailey is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey and current NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest jockeys of all time.

Discreet Cat was a thoroughbred race horse. As a foal of 2003, the bay colt won the UAE Derby in March 2006. He was then shipped to the United States, but did not race in the Kentucky Derby or any other Triple Crown races.

Bernardini was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2006 Preakness Stakes and Travers Stakes.

Fernando Jara is a Panamanian thoroughbred horse racing jockey who currently competes in the United States. Aboard Jazil he won the 2006 Belmont Stakes. In addition, he was the primary North American rider of 2006 American Horse of the Year Invasor, and rode him to victory in the 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic, 2007 Donn Handicap and 2007 Dubai World Cup.

The 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 23rd running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2006 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 4, 2006, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentlemen (horse)</span> Argentine-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Gentlemen is an Argentinian Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the Champion Three-Year-Old Colt in Argentina and then raced successfully in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadwell Racing</span> Thoroughbred horse racing operation

Shadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Kiaran P. McLaughlin is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer best known for training 2006 Horse of the Year Invasor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Hunter</span> American Thoroughbred racehorse

Great Hunter is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. His breeder sold him in the September 2005 Keeneland Sales to Ilona Whetstone. The colt was resold in June 2006 to J. Paul Reddam for $550,000 but has been the subject of a legal dispute following a lien claim by Fifth Third Bank for indebtedness of the financially strapped Ilona Whetstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curlin</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Curlin is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 million accumulated. His major racing wins included the 2007 Preakness Stakes, 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic, and 2008 Dubai World Cup. In August 2008, Timeform assigned a 134 rating for Curlin, calling him the best horse in the world on dirt. Curlin was elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 2014, his first year of eligibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dylan Thomas (horse)</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Dylan Thomas is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. In a racing career which lasted from June 2005 until December 2007, he ran twenty times and won ten races. After winning two minor races in 2005 he improved to become one of the leading European three-year-olds of 2006, winning the Irish Derby and the Irish Champion Stakes as well as finishing a close third in The Derby. In 2007 he won three of Europe's most important weight-for-age races, taking the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, a second Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp. His performances led to his being named European Horse of the Year in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wise Dan</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Wise Dan is a champion American Hall of Fame and Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the first horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years, having been named American Horse of the Year, Champion Older Male and Champion Male Turf Horse in 2012 and 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Dubai World Cup</span> Horse race

The 2007 Dubai World Cup was a horse race held at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse on Saturday 31 March 2007. It was the 12th running of the Dubai World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highland Reel</span> Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Highland Reel is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career running from June 2014 to December 2017 he raced in Ireland, Britain, France, the United States, Australia, Hong Kong and Dubai, and recorded seven victories at Group 1 or Grade 1 level in the Secretariat Stakes, Hong Kong Vase (twice), King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Breeders' Cup Turf, Coronation Cup and Prince of Wales's Stakes. He was also placed in the Prix du Jockey Club, Cox Plate, International Stakes, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Champion Stakes. He holds the record for the greatest amount of prize money earned by a racehorse trained in Europe.

The 2006 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 23rd edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on November 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2006 Breeders' Cup results were highly influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamarkuz</span> American Thoroughbred racehorse

Tamarkuz is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his 2016 win in the $1,000,000 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hosted that year by California's Santa Anita Park.

Awzaan is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed his best form as a two-year-old in 2009 when he was unbeaten in four races including the Mill Reef Stakes and the Middle Park Stakes. He raced for two more seasons but never won again. In 2012 he was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion in Uruguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Without Parole</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Without Parole, is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing promise when winning his only start as a two-year-old he progressed in the following spring, following a win in a minor race by taking the Heron Stakes and then recording his biggest win in the St James's Palace Stakes. He finished unplaced in his three subsequent starts that year. He was later sent to race in the United States where he failed to win but was placed in the Breeders' Cup Mile, Shoemaker Mile Stakes and Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baaeed</span> British Thoroughbred racehorse

Baaeed is a British retired Thoroughbred racehorse. He began his racing career as a three-year-old in 2021 and was undefeated in six races that year, including the Prix du Moulin and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. In the following year he took his unbeaten run to ten with victories in the Lockinge Stakes, Queen Anne Stakes, Sussex Stakes and International Stakes, before losing his final race in the Champion Stakes.

References

  1. ↑ "Invasor Profile". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  2. ↑ ASB: Invasor (ARG) Retrieved 2010-11-11
  3. 1 2 3 4 Haskin, Steve. "Invasor Remembered". cs.bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 Haskin, Steve. "Because of a Horse; The Story of Invasor". cs.bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Haskin, Steve. "Countdown to the Cup: Uruguayans Still Have Love Affair with Invasor". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Super Horse Invasor Retired After Workout Injury". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Invasor to Uruguay's Haras Cuatro Piedras". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "Invasor". www.racingmuseum.org. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Invasor Pedigree". www.equineline.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.

http://www.harassantaines.com/

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.